Lord of Shadow Dragons, those who have reached the extreme of the sword.
As is customary for those called so, at this very moment, Kuntel’s movements blurred the line between drawing and swinging his sword. The swish of the blade being drawn and the whoosh of cutting through the air resonated almost simultaneously.
SWISH.
Belnoa’s vision split apart.
The strike created by the swung sword fell right in front of Belnoa, ignoring the distance. A strike sharp enough to be deadly. The air was pushed away by the impact, snapping like crack.
“······.”
Belnoa fell silent.
In silence, she looked at the strands of her own hair that had been severed. A few strands of bangs floated in the air. The deadly strike had paused right before her, indicating that this knight had chosen not to kill her.
If she had any thoughts, she would have realized what danced in the air were not mere strands of hair but her very life.
That was a warning.
A warning to not move an inch.
While one shouldn’t heed a warning from the enemy while in the heart of their territory, she could not ignore this one. Her life was already in the grips of that knight.
‘…The odds.’
Naturally, there were none.
‘The possibility of escape?’
That too was nonexistent.
Belnoa swallowed hard. Just then, as she stood frozen in place, something rumbled.
RUUUMBLE.
The temple door opened with a low sound.
Kuntel, who stood at the entrance, took a step aside and lowered his head, as if to serve his master.
CLACK.
Footsteps.
CLACK, CLACK.
Someone was approaching from deep within the temple.
Each step echoed, sending ripples through the darkness that filled the temple. As the presence drew closer, Belnoa’s senses heightened.
A massive aura.
The footsteps sounded light, yet the presence was overwhelmingly immense. The oppressive feeling bore down on her, tightening the air around her throat.
‘This is…’
Though it was just once, she had felt such aura before. In the past, in the night city of Kadinak.
CLACK.
At last, she appeared in the meadow before the temple. A priest’s robe entwined with thorny vines. Silvery hair cascading down to her waist. Slender, green eyes. Finally, her lips moved.
“What an unexpected guest.”
The Betrayer, Gletus.
Disaster manifested before Belnoa.
*
“Speaking of which, Belnoa.”
“It seems I truly resemble the Betrayer.”
At this moment, a memory surfaced in Belnoa’s mind, a story that Chloe had once told her.
“Professor Rania could well have been mistaken.”
The tale of the similarities between the Betrayer and Chloe.
And indeed, it was true.
“What brings you here?”
The appearance and voice of the disaster felt far too familiar to Belnoa. It was familiar, yet she could not perceive the Betrayer as resembling Chloe.
‘It’s different.’
At a fundamental level, it was different.
Though hard to explain, there existed a vast chasm that could never be bridged between the disaster before her and Chloe.
“Child.”
Something…
“I’m asking.”
A chilling voice.
Belnoa swallowed nervously and blinked. In the split second when she closed and opened her eyes, the presence had drawn dangerously close.
“What brings you here?”
The Betrayer stood before her.
Though they had seemed to be a good distance apart, in an instant, the space had collapsed. No, that wasn’t it. The Betrayer was still standing at the entrance of the temple. It was Belnoa herself who had moved.
An incomprehensible situation.
However, there was no time to ponder the phenomenon now. Belnoa clenched her trembling hand tightly. Before her were those green eyes. The unsettling eyes of a Braver were gazing at her.
What should she choose?
To survive, what stance should she adopt?
How should she comport herself?
A myriad of thoughts raced through her mind.
At the moment when the Betrayer reached out a hand toward Belnoa, who still remained unresponsive, she made a choice. Belnoa opened her mouth and spoke.
“…I was caught up in a spell and fell into the heart of the Phantom Territory.”
The Betrayer’s arm halted.
She tilted her head slightly.
“And so?”
“I leapt into this vertical cave to evade pursuers while attempting to return to the frontline.”
The Betrayer blinked.
As if having difficulty comprehending, she asked back.
“So, you came here to escape?”
“…Yes.”
“To escape? To this place?”
Belnoa nodded, and the Betrayer burst into laughter. As if finding it utterly ridiculous. Or perhaps, as if it amused her.
“Do you know where this is?”
The Betrayer said with a hollow laugh.
“It’s Alkeia. The Abyss, Alkeia.”
The place where filth gathers.
The Betrayer’s domain, Alkeia.
“Goodness, it’s the first time I’ve seen a child try to escape into my domain. You mustn’t be in your right mind?”
…If I had known, I wouldn’t have come in.
Belnoa swallowed those words silently.
“Well,”
the Betrayer said, still laughing.
“Not being in your right mind is probably why you inherited Belial’s sorcery.”
Belnoa flinched, her shoulders jerking.
As if to ask how she knew, the Betrayer extended her finger. A white finger pointed at Belnoa’s heart.
“Even if centuries have passed, Belial was my comrade.”
From the brightest of ages.
A comrade with whom she shared the most joyous memories.
Mumbling this, the Betrayer smiled.
“How could I not recognize the sorcery of such a comrade? The god you serve is surely… the Lord of Shadow Dragons, isn’t he?”
The Betrayer shrugged.
“Child, what’s your name?”
“…Belnoa.”
“Belnoa, Belnoa…”
The Betrayer repeated the name several times, grinning. For that fleeting moment, she resembled Chloe, causing Belnoa to catch her breath.
“Did you say you want to return to the frontline?”
The Betrayer asked.
Belnoa nodded.
“Follow me.”
The Betrayer turned her back, walking deeper into the temple. A seemingly unguarded back. Yet, the thought of attacking didn’t arise. It wasn’t because she resembled Chloe.
‘…No matter what I do.’
In her current state.
No, even if she was fully prepared… it didn’t feel like she could defeat her. That unguarded appearance was simply the leisure of a strong.
“Why aren’t you moving?”
The Betrayer looked back at her while walking.
“Not following?”
A moment of hesitation.
Ultimately, Belnoa decided to follow the Betrayer.
2.
The ruined Artiya.
A Braver buried in the rubble of crumbled buildings coughed something up. What he expelled was the filth that constituted his body.
THUD.
The slimy filth disintegrated the moment it touched the ground. Realizing the lost filth wouldn’t return, the Braver chuckled softly.
“Really.”
His body was collapsing.
Not only his flesh but the shadows that comprised the Braver’s very being were feeling the effects of the breakdown. At that moment, lightning erratically surged, gnawing at the Braver’s soul.
“This is utterly absurd.”
It was but a fleeting moment.
As Rania activated an unknown circuit, the outcome of the battle was decided in an instant. There was no time to analyze the circuit or comprehend the spell; it all happened in a blink.
“That cursed mana is already questionable enough to conjure, and now it’s even more advanced.”
“The essence remains the same.”
THUNK, Rania stood right before the Braver.
The Braver lay crumpled among the debris, while Rania stood firmly, looking down at him. There was no question as to who the victor was.
“Such an incomprehensible spell.”
“Which is why you must have failed.”
“Striking a painful spot, aren’t you?”
The Braver, jesting, asked.
“What was the cost you paid?”
The Braver’s gaze was fixed on Rania.
Though the spell released by the Braver did not even reach her, Rania’s eyes were bloodshot, and blood flowed from her nose and mouth.
The physical toll was minimal.
Yet the Braver knew.
That was merely the surface; many more costs had to have been paid by Rania. Because power comes with a price.
“It shouldn’t be light, should it?”
Did she take another chunk of her lifespan?
Then my plan has succeeded.
Muttering to himself, Rania stomped on the Braver’s head with her combat boots, raising her finger.
“Do you think I’m foolish enough to say that outright?”
Still, she continued.
“If I told you to annoy me, it doesn’t mean I’ll be taking away your lifespan. I can’t use that method anymore.”
She would not utilize the method that cost her lifespan.
For this life was not hers alone. Rania had resolved to no longer siphon the life given to her by others.
“Why can’t you?”
“There’s a certain someone I made a promise to.”
Rania twisted her boot. The Braver’s shadow squelched, further crumbling.
“Anyway, the cost isn’t something I need to concern myself about.”
Half-destroyed face.
With one remaining eye, the Braver looked at Rania.
“You inherited the contract from the Ashen Elf, I presume?”
“I have the initiative.”
“Then you must also know why they failed in the hunt?”
“I do.”
“And yet…”
The Braver scoffed.
“Still, you stand there?”
“Yup.”
Rania pressed down with her boot.
The remaining half of the Braver’s face disintegrated rapidly.
THUD, the filth splattered onto Rania’s face. As the corrosive filth hissed and burned, Rania lowered her head slightly.
“Because that’s what needs to be done.”
“Is that the best option?”
Rania did not reply.
By not answering, she answered. Before her unwavering gaze, the Braver exhaled a long sigh.
“Really…”
He gazed at the lightning that clung to his shadow, gnawing at his soul. The lightning, having invaded beyond the flesh to the very soul, showed no sign of fading.
“This will follow you even if you move your flesh. Truly insidious magic. Or is it not magic?”
The Braver said with a scoff.
“Detestable.”
Indeed.
“Truly a wretched curse.”
THUD. The Braver’s body completely collapsed.
3.
Belnoa followed the Betrayer deeper.
Inside the temple, the darkness enveloped; however, that was only at the entrance. After walking just a bit, the darkness cleared. An unknown light illuminated the temple.
And upon revealing what lay before her, Belnoa gasped.
Humans in a pitiful state, some indistinguishable mass of something, and indescribable horrors filled the temple’s inner sanctum. It seemed to stretch endlessly.
“······.”
She believed she had a strong stomach, yet even she couldn’t maintain her composure in front of this sight. Belnoa’s gaze wavered. The most horrific betrayal was taking place in a temple meant for venerating the divine.
SLIME, SQUELCH.
Something approached Belnoa.
Something crawled toward her from the ground and gripped her ankle tightly. A handhold that could be easily shaken off, yet Belnoa found herself frozen in place.
“Ah,■■. ■■■.”
It uttered an unintelligible language while shedding tears. Though it had lost any discernible shape, its essence melted away and mingled with others, yet its eyes remained unmistakably human.
“Why.”
As Belnoa stood still, the Betrayer turned her head and looked at her.
“Do you feel pity?”
A voice devoid of warmth.
“Or do you find it terrifying?”
Confronted with the pure question, Belnoa found herself at a loss for words. She fell silent, and the Betrayer spoke dryly.
“I think it’s beautiful.”
The Betrayer smiled.
It was a beautiful smile. More than any other time.
“For having cast aside the flesh and returning to essence. No matter how ugly one may be, their essence is beautiful. So, I brought together beautiful beings. Humans, beasts, spirits, betrayers, all of them have beauty in their essence, don’t they?”
It was beautiful, yet…
“Everyone deserves salvation.”
That laughter felt the most grotesque.
“Escaping the rules dictated by a false god, that very appearance is salvation. Isn’t it?”
Belnoa’s expression twisted.
The Betrayer looked at Belnoa’s face and laughed.
“It is a matter of perspective. I don’t expect you to understand.”
And yet, she resumed walking forward.
“A day will come when you all will be saved.”
For this is the place for it.
